Introduction

Fāgogo is an oral account told at night after a day’s chores; it was something special to look forward to as a Samoan child. The fāgogo was often told in the dark while you were getting ready to sleep, so the listeners were often required to call ‘Aue’ to signal you were awake and listening. The call also voiced your appreciation for the storytelling and the narrator. Fāgogo were told in many cases by older women. Sometimes the sung part of the fāgogo that was performed by the elderly voice not only made one’s imagination traverse the universe of the Samoan spiritual world, but also held one’s attention. The vivid emotions were often of wonderment, enjoyment and at times, fear of the supernatural, effects achieved through the spoken and the sung word pictures. The effect of this powerful medium resulted in not only the closing together of little bodies in case the aitu (ghost or spirit) might come at night in one’s sleep, but also the confirmation of the world that was Samoan in essence. Learning the language through listening to fāgogo is based on a medium that is natural and culturally powerful.

About fāgogo

The Samoan fables presented here are among a large collection recorded in Samoan in the 1960s by Richard Moyle¹ as part of a survey of traditional forms of music. Their present value on this site is more for their linguistic content than their musical features, because they are intended to allow the student of Samoan language to learn as a Samoan child primarily does – by listening.

The site allows you to learn in three stages.

1. By placing on screen both the text of the story together with a parallel English translation, you are able to play back the original audio recording and follow the words of the Samoan text, pausing the playback wherever the vocabulary is unfamiliar and checking with the English translation.
2. When you understand the vocabulary and are able to follow the narrative by watching the Samoan text alone, the English translation can be removed from the screen, and the audio recording proceeds with only the Samoan text on-screen.
3. When the Samoan text is no longer needed, that too can be removed from the screen, allowing you to enhance your understanding based on visual aids with one using aural skills alone.

Although the stories have no titles as such, they have been assigned names here for ease of reference, and  are graded in terms of their vocabulary, speed and clarity of delivery. From easiest to hardest, these are:

• ‘O Sina ma Le’ulafala narrated by Seiuli, Falelima, Savai’i
• ‘O Gatalaiuluē narrated by Sa Malia, Sagone, Savai’i
• ‘O le Gata narrated by Ia’ele, Satupa’itea, Savai’i
• ‘O le Fai narrated by Aiolopu Fa’afofola, Falelima, Savai‘i
• ‘O Fila ma Fala narrated by Vila, Sāfa‘i, Savai‘i
• ‘O Tigilau ma le Lupe narrated by Liuvae, Samalae‘ulu
• ‘O Tuivalea ma Tuiatamai narrated by Sefo, Samauga, Savai’i
• ‘O Sinausu’imanu narrated by Taupaoga, Sataua, Savai’i
• ‘O Tulelepuia‘ilama narrated by Tai, Satupa‘itea, Savai’i

These fagogo were transcribed and translated by Richard Moyle and checked by Galumalemana Alfred Hunkin.

¹ Richard Moyle, Honorary Research Professor, Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Auckland
Adjunct Professor, Queensland Conservatorium of Music Research Centre, Griffith University.

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